Dinner And Dessert
by Rooscha
Summary: When team Avatar is reunited in Republic City, chaos haunts their days. But during their nights, Zhu Li and Varrick take everyone out to dinner and then they have some dessert, so to speak. But Varrick is not always good at waiting until after the meal to have his dessert.


When team Avatar were all in town, things tended to get a little exciting. They would party, rip apart the town and then put it back together. On the quieter nights, Varrick would convince everyone to go out to a nice dinner. There was a steakhouse in the new downtown, one that was almost custom made for men like Varrick. Dark wood, cigar smoke permeating the air, steaks so good people from Zhu Li's background could hardly imagine. The opulence of it all made her stomach turn, but she had long since learned to hold her tongue. Varrick was made of such opulence.

Zhu Li was doing her makeup in front of the vanity when her husband sashayed in. Tonight he was in his element, playing the gracious host he was not. But, he was nothing if not a great actor. But this caliber of dinner was always stressful for her. Small talk and intoxicated people were not always her favorite thing. Luckily, Bolin and Opal would be at the party. Opal and she had become almost friends at this point. She was expecting a real friendship in short order. It would be one of her first since she had begun working for Varrick. She was still rusty at doing many of the things she had done before Varrick had hired her.

"Are you almost ready?" The whine in his voice was just below the surface. She glanced at the clock, it was still much too early to leave.

"I have plenty of time before we need to leave, love. And I want to look my best for you." Varrick's face appeared in the mirror and he smoothed his moustache. She nearly giggled. He was such a fop, even when it was just the two of him. His moustache, as per usual, was as perfect as it always was.

"You should shave that silly thing off. I'll keep pushing until you do it." Zhu Li poked him in the stomach, trying to get him away from her mirror. He refused.

"You leave me alone. The moustache has been my trademark for years." He smoothed his moustache yet again, before dropping a kiss to the top of her head. He would never shave it, but she thought it would make him look younger and more debonair than he already was. Which was a terrifying thought. Maybe he shouldn't shave it, she had a hard enough time keeping him in line.

"I still have to do my hair and get dressed. It will take me a while. Go work on something." She picked up another makeup brush, one that was much nicer than anything she had before they were married. Now she was a touch spoiled, as nothing was ever good enough for Mrs. Varrick, according to Iknik Blackstone Varrick. In her opinion, she deserved it after all the years of tension and rubbing his feet.

Instead of working on anything, he picked up a book he had been reading and threw himself dramatically onto the bed behind her. In the mirror, she could see him fidgeting and muttering to himself. He was never truly still. Even in the middle of the night he would roll and twitch. When they were newly married, it was very disturbing to her. She did not sleep much those first few weeks. Not that he would really let her sleep during their honeymoon anyways.

Watching him in the mirror was incredibly distracting. She had long since learned that it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else when he was near. It didn't matter if he was right in front of her or a room over. There was something about him that was truly magnetic to her.

"I cannot get ready as quickly if you are here." She tried to put her eye shadow on, but her hands were not steady enough. His frenetic energy was getting to her. As always.

In the mirror, his eyes appeared over the top of book. His posture straightened and he leaned back against the bed. His eyes spoke of wicked intent. She was already in trouble and he was still fully dressed, from his dark blue coat to his shiny black shoes. But those eyes spelled being late for dinner. He did and said nothing further.

With a light sigh, Zhu Li turned her attention back to herself. She managed to steady her hand and finished her makeup. When she went to do her hair, he shifted again. This time, the book lowered a little bit and he slid down the bed a touch. Then he snickered.

Damn. She had stopped brushing her hair to watch him. He was feeling on top of the world tonight. Zhu Li tingled. Those were her best days, and probably his best days as well. He liked to draw out the tension and make her knees weak. But in the end, those nights were the most memorable. Her blush started to creep up her chest.

Resolutely, she turned back to her hair. She fluffed it out, making sure that her breasts were in full view when she stretched her arms up to put up the bun. It was his turn to squirm. She giggled lightly. His eyes came up over the book to stare at her again. This time, his eyes were darker. More dangerous. Time to push him a little more and make this night truly memorable.

She slowly rose from the chair, making sure that all her body was on display, even though her form was mostly concealed by a robe. He had seen her naked many times, so she knew his imagination was on overdrive at the moment. But she had no intentions to let him have her until after they got home.

She sashayed to the wardrobe on the on the wall and pulled open the dark wood doors. Most of the closet was full of his clothing, from nice coats to even nicer smoking jackets. Her clothes were towards the right side, closer to the restroom so she could get up early and disturb him as little as possible. She chose a dark blue gown, with flowing kimono sleeves and a slightly dipped neck line in front and back. It was quite a modern choice, fusing the best of the Fire Kingdom style with the contemporary motif of a Republic City wrap dress and the colors of the Water Tribe.

It was also undeniably sexy. She refused to wear it without a wrap. But she liked to tease Iknik with the knowledge that the back of neck was only a few millimeters from being exposed. Like many with more modest tastes, Zhu Li thought that the back of the neck was something that should only be exposed to a spouse. In the back of her head, she knew that it was slightly archaic, and that Iknik had seen much more of her than the back of her neck. Old habits and all that.

Without turning, she dropped the robe, exposing her naked body to the chilly air of the room. She had filled in even more since she and Varrick had married. She was now even more confident in herself and her standing in the world. No longer was she a little girl in the Fire Nation looking to make a life for herself, out from under the thumb of her overbearing father. She was now the wife of the richest man in the world. The wife of the smartest man in the world. It was empowering and frightening all at once. Right now, she needed to focus on the empowering part.

No noise had indicated that he had risen from the bed. But suddenly, a hand was reaching past her, into her underwear drawer. Long fingers pulled a fire red corset and matching panties from the drawer. The hand dipped, depositing the panties back into the drawer. A small noise of discontent left her throat and the red panties were picked back up.

Iknik hit his knees behind her in a whoosh of air, threatening to dirty his pants. The thought made her smile. Maybe he was learning that she was worth getting a little dirty. One large hand gently picked up her right ankle and held her steady as the other hand slipped one side of the panties over her foot. The process repeated with her other foot. The panties slide up her legs, kisses following in their wake. Her knees weakened and she dipped slightly. One final kiss was pressed to her bottom as the panties met her most intimate flesh.

She shivered. Tonight was going to be great. She felt him rise behind her, small pieces of fur trim brushing her naked torso and legs. It almost felt too good to be real. The corset was next. Now that she filled out more, it seemed like it was a better investment when wearing a slinkier dress. The things it did to her form were amazing. Varrick seemed to think so, as well. His eyes were always glued on her when she wore it.

His hot hands grasped her breasts through the silk of the corset. She nearly gasped, falling back against him slightly. Her mouth dropped open. When did the tables turn? Wasn't she supposed to be teasing him and not the other way around? Her hands came up to cover his, and for a moment they were both grasping her through the silk. His breath was hitting her neck in ragged pulls. At least he was acting as affected as she felt.

His hands left her and began the long process of pulling the corset closed. It gave her a moment to concentrate on her breathing and stop working herself up. He pulled it just tight enough, making sure to fit a finger under the strings to ensure that she could breathe properly.

Like he could read her mind, he pulled the blue dress out from the wardrobe, and helped her step into the dress like a robe. One of his feet moved alongside her own and he spun her around. The muscles in his forearms were tense and his eyes were dark, pupils expanding with his growing lust. He gently wrapped the dress around her form, making sure to press her back against the wooden support of the wardrobe trapping her against him. Once the dress had been securely tied against her form, he kissed her.

Now, kisses with Iknik were always an experience. He was a physical being, so touching her was a favorite pastime of his. Some of his kisses were small and meant anything from "I love you" to "Thank you." Now, his medium impassioned kisses usually meant "I'm sorry" to "I want to fuck you tonight." These were the most common of the kisses, in true Varrick style. His strong kisses, like this one, were rare. It wasn't that they didn't happen, it was just that it was rare for both his body and his intellect to be together. He was usually thinking about his next step. But the kisses where he was all there were the best. They made her knees weak and instantly made her ready for him.

When he pulled back, she was dazed, breathless and wondering why they had just spent all that time getting her dressed when she was going to end up naked in just a few moments. But that mischievous look was back in his eyes, making the blue sparkle like the most brilliant sapphires.

"It's time to go to dinner, love. Grab your shoes and I will meet you downstairs." And with that, he left.

Bastard.


End file.
